FRANKLIN — Franklin is the safest city in the country with a population of 25,000 or more people, according to a website that tracks data culled from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies.

For the past three years, Franklin has ranked at or close to the top of NeighborhoodScout.com’s list of 100 safest cities in the country. Both this year and last, the town of 33,182 people ranked first. In 2012, Franklin was second after Bergenfield, N.J., which has a population of just over 27,000 people.

In compiling its list, the website purports to collect raw statistics from 17,000 law enforcement agencies in the country.

"Once we have this complete and accurate count of crimes for every city in the nation, our analysis takes the total crimes for each city with 25,000 or more people, and divides them by the population of the city, divided by 1,000," according to the website. "This establishes a total crime rate per 1,000 population that is used to compare every city."

Many of the statistics used to form the website’s profile of Franklin came from the FBI’s latest report on crime in the country, released in January 2013.

According to NeighborhoodScout.com, Franklin’s violent crime rate and property crime rate rank well below state and nation averages.

Mainly, the website allows visitors to compare cites and towns based on various factors including crime and population. Some of the lists it features include "Most Dangerous Cities in America" and "America’s Best Public Schools."

"We’re always pleased when we get recognition like this," said Franklin Police Chief Stephan Semerjian. "But it has a lot to do with the community as well. Certainly, law enforcement can’t take all of the credit. We like to think that we’re doing a good job and able to keep the community safe for everyone."

Semerjian added that his department does not track the town’s crime rate. Instead, its data is sent into the National Incident-Based Reporting System and made available for other agencies to review.

"It has to be done by the end of the calendar year," he said. "They glean the information from there."

Town Council Chairman Robert Vallee hadn’t heard of the website, but nonetheless considered the ranking "quite an honor."

"We have a good community and a good police department despite the fact we are undermanned," Vallee said. "These guys do a great job, all college-bred and intelligent; it’s quite an honor for them. And we’ve had great, dedicated people working as our chiefs of police."

While Semerjian acknowledged that the department’s staff is lower than it has been in the past, he said it hasn’t had an effect on crime fighting.

"We’re at lower numbers than we were some 10 or 12 years ago, but credit goes to the patrol guys and the detectives because they are out there working at the same intensity," he said.

Page 2 of 2 - Matt Tota can be reached at 508-634-7521 or mtota@wickedlocal.com.